The Santa Barbara Police Department is currently investigating two recent
stabbings that occurred on Santa Barbara's Westside.

On February 22, 2013 at 9:12 a.m., SBPD officers responded to a call of a
possible robbery on the 300 block of W. Arrellaga Street. This incident was
later reclassified as an assault with a deadly weapon. Upon arrival the
officers located a 34-year old male victim who was suffering from multiple non-
life threatening stab wounds. The victim was transported by paramedics to Santa
Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment. Investigation indicates that this
incident was not gang related. No arrests have been made. This incident is
still under investigation and additional details are being withheld.

On February 24, 2013 at 4:48 p.m., SBPD officers responded to multiple 9-1-1
calls of several subjects with baseball bats fighting in the vicinity of
Kowalski Avenue and Sola Street. This, too, was later determined to be an
assault with a deadly weapon. Upon arrival officers found a 17-year old male
victim suffering from several non-life threatening stab wounds on the front
porch of a residence on 800 W. Victoria Street. Investigation indicates that
the victim and a 17-year old male companion were walking on 800 W. Victoria
Street, en route to a quinceanera practice, when they were confronted by
subjects, chased, and the victim was assaulted. The victim's companion was
unhurt. The victim was transported by paramedics to Santa Barbara Cottage
Hospital for treatment. Neither the victim nor his companion have any gang
affiliation; nevertheless, investigation indicates that this incident is gang
related. No arrests have been made. This incident is also still under
investigation and additional details are being withheld.

And the real terrorists continue to peddle their violence in every American city, day in, day out, creating no go areas and a general climate of fear.... and we always dismiss it as mere "crime". Perhaps it is because the perps are not Muslim....

COMMENT 378502

2013-02-25 12:34 PM

Santa Barbara should really have Concealed Carry Permits....just saying. and before all of you jump down my throat hear me out... when the post about that bat fight incident was posted Roger said "multiple parties reporting" imagine if one of those parties was a licensed concealed carrier and stopped the incident right there instead of calling in then driving on down the road on their merry way, a drawn gun and click of the safety would stop most if not all little thugs in their tracks and make them drop to their knees with their hands up, believe me kids these days know the drill... and control the situation till the COPS (who only show up AFTER a crime) arrive.

COMMENT 378503

2013-02-25 12:35 PM

Out of the two stabbings and one shooting, only one assault was gang related... but I guess since the descriptions were hma with shaved heads everyone just assumes. Remember, there are lots of violent people out there whom will whoop your a$$ for messing with them and not all are gang members or even hma.

ROGER DODGER

2013-02-25 12:44 PM

What if one of the thugs was carrying a gun..They don't always shoot during fights even if they are packing..Unless of course one sees a citizen with a gun..I'd never pull a gun on a bunch of gangers during a fight unless I had to protect myself or someone innocent.

COMMENT 378512

2013-02-25 12:45 PM

SB has been trying to cover this up for years. There's been so much swept under the rug we're tripping over it.Time to bring it all out into the daylight, gang related or not, and deal with it.

MESARATS

2013-02-25 12:56 PM

502. I don't think trying to break up a bat fight ( or any other kind) with a gun is a good idea. Puts too many at risk, including innocent people. You don't "draw and click" unless you are willing to pull the trigger. I would fear the crazy vigilantes more then the punks.

COMMENT 378519P

2013-02-25 12:56 PM

out of a shooting and two stabbings the police have only released that one was gang-related. The shooting remains shrouded in mystery.

YIN YANG

2013-02-25 01:00 PM

The shooting is still under investigation.

COMMENT 378535

2013-02-25 01:20 PM

502, wouldn't you have to be personally threatened to draw a concealed weapon, turn the safety off and point it at someone with your finger on the trigger? If you're just driving by (or even sitting on your porch watching the fight happen on the street in front of you), you're not being threatened. As much as the gang and other street violence here sucks, what you propose is vigilantism.

COMMENT 378541

2013-02-25 01:42 PM

First 502, CA is a May-Issue Concealed Carry Permit jurisdiction. Second, 535 is absolutely correct: Unless you or your immediate family are the ones being threatened, you may not pull your weapon. So in this instance, nothing would have been legally different. Only police and deputies can legally intervene with firearms.

COMMENT 378548P

2013-02-25 02:06 PM

The cops haven't been able to stop the violence and, even if we had the concealed carry permit, we couldn't use our guns to stop the violence. So, what do we do?

The City is useless - they say there is no problem. The cops are off buying $4k tricycles to play with and a $210K fence to keep them safe. But what about US? Who is going to keep US safe from these thugs?

COMMENT 378549

2013-02-25 02:11 PM

@541 - not entirely accurate.

CCW laws and legalesse state that you or someone within your immediate vicinity is in mortal danger, you are within your legal rights to intervene until the threat has subsided.

That being said - if you have a 2 groups of mutual combatants going at it with bats, crowbars, what have you --- intervening to stop their mutual combat is beyond the "legal" usefulness of a CCW.

Now if it were 1 group of 8 with bats attacking innocent bystanders : Start pumping the lead.

COMMENT 378550

2013-02-25 02:16 PM

513P. Im a young HMA with a shaved head and I'm not in a gang. I have many friends just like me. We are mistaken for gang members by people and sometimes even cops. But that's SB for you, everyone is racial profiling. And don't tell me im wrong because I live it and have lived it every single day.

COMMENT 378554

2013-02-25 02:31 PM

Sorry 503, but you must know that you look like that... show me a gang member that doesn't have a shaved head (prob with tattoos).

COMMENT 378557

2013-02-25 02:33 PM

They weren't Hispanics. I seen a white escalade full of white boys

ROGER DODGER

2013-02-25 02:35 PM

I got long hair and a beard wear ripped out jeans and my Edhat tee shirt everybody thinks I'm a bum..Everyone racial profiles..

COMMENT 378563P

2013-02-25 02:45 PM

Really, a group of hispanic (or any race) young men with shaved heads beating someone with bats is a gang. Sorry if you get "profiled" 550, but if you are in a group of others committing violent acts and you all look "just like" you, then you're probably going to be labeled a "gangster."

COMMENT 378564

2013-02-25 02:48 PM

554: Frankly, Hispanic guys look good with shaved heads. Now, once you add tattoos in, then you really get into profiling territory. I'm actually wondering about the gang incident - were the victims HMA's? Curious if the gang idiots were profiling and though the kid was from another gang...And as someone who would totally carry if I could in town, I'm not so sure I'd pull a gun out in this situation. Although with the "can't draw unless you/your family is in danger" issue, all you have to do if you see this & were carrying is to yell at the guys to stop it. They'd probably involve you pretty quick, and then you could legally draw your weapon.548: You want to help? Form a neighborhood watch, talk to cops when something happens in your neighborhood, get involved. Put up security cameras & lights if you need in your yard. Call cops when you see suspicious stuff. Carry pepperspray for situations like this.

COMMENT 378571

2013-02-25 03:04 PM

This is one block from where I used to live and 6 blocks from where I live now. Maybe we need to turn the westside into a gated community and have armed guards at the entrances. Mission, Modoc, Micheltorena, Carrillo. If you couldn't show a good reason why you were there, you couldn't come in. Maybe then the kids could going to parties could stop worrying about whether they might be killed or not.

COMMENT 378577P

2013-02-25 03:11 PM

I was at a birthday BBQ at a friend's house on this very block on Saturday night and coincidently, the birthday girl lived a block away from last week's shooting death.

Time for that gang injunction, NOW.

COMMENT 378578

2013-02-25 03:13 PM

Great job sbpd... U guys are always on top of Things! Pfft...

COMMENT 378587P

2013-02-25 03:46 PM

We'd have a lot less of this sort of stuff if we had foot patrols and beat cops.

COMMENT 378588P

2013-02-25 03:48 PM

580 - no one voted for Cam Sanchez or Steve Wiley, they were appointed.

COMMENT 378604

2013-02-25 04:42 PM

when did i ever say "and put my finger on the trigger" and to Roger, the posting said two boys age 17 with no gang affiliation were attacked if that isn't an innocent person getting attack i dont know what is....... The only thing that can stop a BAD person with a WEAPON is a GOOD person with a WEAPON and not all COPS are GOOD and they only show up AFTER the crime / beating / murder / rape / burglary / etc etc. I am very aware that you have to apply for a CWP but literally NO civilians have been giving permits in SBC.... And for one of who you said you would be scared of the person carrying you do realize that getting one here is literally one of the toughest things you can do? they are very strict on your background.... doubt any wacko would slip thru those cracks

ROGER DODGER

2013-02-25 05:40 PM

I'm a wacko and I've slipped thru alot of cracks, alot...@583 I'll be laughing at that sentence along time..Don't worry I won't threaten you..lol

COMMENT 378640

2013-02-25 05:48 PM

Granted those are appointed positions, but the MAYOR and Council "own" the City Administrator, or at least they are to supposed to be Armstrong's "boss..." They have given Armstrong Card Blanche to choose his "team". His team, in particular, the Police Chief, needs to step down. With regard to the City Attorney, he is afraid to stand up to the ACLU or any pro-homeless industry or Hispanic Coalition that basically protects the consistent law breakers and hurts our City...

COMMENT 378688

2013-02-25 08:36 PM

680...love it! Oh, and thanks for your service!

COMMENT 378691

2013-02-25 08:50 PM

680 for the win!

COMMENT 378710P

2013-02-26 01:44 AM

Guns kept in the home for self-protection are 43 times more likely to kill a family member, friend or acquaintance than to kill an intruder, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Guns on the street or in the house make us less safe. According to the FBI, for every justifiable handgun homicide, there are more than 50 handgun murders.

------------------

Britain has a much stricter gun control culture with relatively few guns in households. You couldn´t get a more murder free society than Britain or Japan which has banned practically all guns. In contrast, America has as many firearms as there are people – a situation made irreversibly dangerous knowing that guns have at least a 100-year life cycle.

In 2010, roughly 70% of US homicides were by gun whereas in Britain including Northern Ireland only 9% were by gun. In the US in 2012 the total firearm-related death rate including both suicides and homicides was 10.2 per 100,000; in France the comparative figure was 3.0; in Britain, 0.25 . So the US firearms-related death rate was about 40 times that of Britain!

To those who "look like gang members" and are concerned about racial profiling: I suggest you change your look, or do you like thepresumed affiliation because it makes you badder? Just asking, trying to understand.

S'Auntie Barbara

ROGER DODGER

2013-02-26 07:26 AM

Why must people change the way they look so others won't judge them? People will judge anyway..

COMMENT 378739

2013-02-26 07:34 AM

Few people understand what the proposed gang injunction would really do in the real world, but just mentioning it gives the illusion for all the insulated people to think that someone is doing something, anything. Therefore, that million dollars spent on it so far is so worth it as a placebo.

COMMENT 378754

2013-02-26 08:14 AM

A Gang Injunction gives more rights to the Police on the street VS the punk-bangers...It sends a Message...It HAS helped in other communities... It has to be quelled and removed not just in our town, but in the local jail environment, and our schools.Call it profiling or whatever- quash it !

COMMENT 378794P

2013-02-26 09:22 AM

When I was young in SB in the '70's clothing and hair also identified "affilliations".Hippies-surfers- loadies-cholos- and sometimes a blend of one or more. The notion that certain styles of dress and hair do not indicate gang membership is absurd and naive, at best, self-delusional at worst.

COMMENT 378811

2013-02-26 09:58 AM

The recent shooting and these stabbings are all linked to the Mexican Mafia... or the "EME". What was supposed to be a football game turned into a meeting and instruction about the "new rules". They are now going to be collectiong "tax" ( $1000 a month) from the local Eastsiders, Westsiders, Rock Creek and any drug dealer. Kind of like a royalty for claiming 13 ( South ). They are going after any drug dealer... gang member or not, Hispanic or White, and taking their cut. The Eastsiders and Westsiders are now fighting over who is going to be the one collecting. The guy who got shot the other day was a drug dealer from Ventura who did not want to pay "tax". Our local law enforcement need to get a handle on this right now, or we are all going to have our beautiful city ruined.

COMMENT 378822

2013-02-26 10:19 AM

548P. The police did not pay for the Trikkes. Check your facts.

COMMENT 378823P

2013-02-26 10:24 AM

811 - is that really the case? How do you know all this? Just interested, that's all.

COMMENT 378828

2013-02-26 10:43 AM

it is 100% true. I was told this before the stabbings, and it also happens that my good friend ( not the original source) was riding the bus yesterday and some random guy who just got out of jail, struck up a conversation with him about the stabbings. They were fighting over who is going to collect, and it is the big talk in jail right now. We are about to see some pretty serious gang wars.

COMMENT 378883P

2013-02-26 01:03 PM

811 / 828 I don't understand why the EME would think there is enough drug money in this little town to warrant their kind of muscle and interest. LA, sure. But here? It's mostly hippy dippies on weed, and a few meth heads and heroin users. Just don't see the volume and traffic there that would get the EME opening fire on people on Olive St.

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